Univacco hosts Indian open house

Attended by about 40 printers, an open house at the Nilpeter factory in Chennai, India, featured a 10-color Nilpeter FB servo press printing clear-on-clear and in-mold labels using Univacco foils and in-line die-cutting. The event was organized by Dhana Impex, the Indian distributor for Taiwan-based Univacco.

The demonstration was followed by a gathering where T. Kamalakannan, chief executive officer at Dhana Impex, welcomed the printers. ‘The industry is confronted with challenging time and we are introducing new products to address the needs of customers.’

Colin Thompson, marketing and sales product manager at Univacco, introduced the company to the audience and said, ‘To address the industry demands, we have new materials and films coming out to cater to clear-on-clear labels. We are committed to constant innovation with new formula and techniques which we think would benefit the Indian print industry too.’

Beyond pressure-sensitive

Manish Kapoor, country head of sales at Nilpeter, urged the printers to look at opportunities beyond pressure-sensitive labels. ‘The Indian label printing industry is growing at a moderate rate of 15 percent. Forty-five percent of this growth is contributed by increasing volume, 25 percent each is contributed by value growth and shift from wet-glue and four percent by expanding footprint. To be able to grow at 15 percent, label printers will have to address all these areas.’

He said that it is important to think creatively, to get and retain new businesses, and to increase capacity as well as productivity. ‘Don’t carry dead weight in the form of non-profitable jobs. Work hard towards adding relevant and profitable business,’ he added.

He also suggested that printers invest wisely in what they need and not in what is available in the market when adding capacity. ‘Buy something that will give you an edge over competition and will differentiate you. Innovate and increase capability. Work closely with your suppliers and don’t wait for others to develop new markets. It’s equally important to educate wet-glue label printers about the advantages of shifting to pressure-sensitive printing.’

‘There are opportunities galore,’ he assured. Highlighting some positive aspects of the industry, he said that the entry barrier has risen considerably making it tough for new entrants.

‘The growth graph continues to show an upward trend. Undercutting of prices has been brought to a level where they cannot be cut anymore. It is thus time to graduate from being a label printer to a packaging provider. Unleash the power of the Indian label printing industry and invest in a combination press.’

Praveen Gupta, country manager, South Asia, UPM Raflatac, reiterated Kapoor’s suggestion of shifting focus to value addition and not chase after volume alone.

Alan Baretto, managing director of Nilpeter India, concluded the event by delivering a vote of thanks to the printers and suppliers.

Some prominent printers at the demonstration were Classic Image Offset from Kolkata; Seljegat Printers, Sivakasi; Wintex Flexo Prints, Bengaluru; Nitai Press, Ahmedabad; Ajanta Packaging; Venkateswara Packaging, Bengaluru; Shriram Veritech, Noida; Impact Packaging, Delhi; Super Labels, Chennai; Best Labels, Chennai, amongst others. Some offset printers looking at diversifying into label printing were also present.

Among suppliers who partnered at the open house were Flint Group, UPM Raflatac, Biessse tapes, Kodak, Veepee Arts from Bangalore, RotoMetrics and Swedcut.